Cat Core 2, Chapter 25.

Chapter 25.

The party along with Shara left, and given the lack of noise, she figured they had made it back to the tunnel exit without any further problems. Florence spent some time sprucing things up, putting little decorative details throughout the home. Doug worked on his traps, wanting to move things around a bit between delves to keep the adventurers on their toes. Florence normally liked these quiet times, it did her good to just sit back and watch her babies, but she couldn’t quite enjoy it this time. She didn’t feel well, her gem itched all over and she could feel a pressure that bordered on pain start in her mind.

“My goodness, are you all right Florence?” Doug asked.

“I don’t know, Doug, can core gems get sick? I…” Florence couldn’t complete the sentence as the pain intensified. It almost felt as if her gem was cracking, but that wasn’t possible, was it? A voice was heard, the sound coming straight from where the pain was origination.

“Florence, do not resist me! I command you to let me through?” The voice said.

“Shut up whoever you are, get out of my head!” Florence shouted in her mind. An image appeared, it was that creepy, licking skeleton guy and she could tell he was trying to use her gem for something. Whatever he was doing to her gem wasn’t going to end well for her if she let him. Florence redoubled her efforts, pushing back against the lich with all the stubbornness she could muster. She could feel the lich’s anger at her resistance. Every time before, the guy had been creepy, but polite enough, this time, there was a desperation in his actions.

“Very well, little core, I’ll seek rebirth elsewhere as my need is urgent this day, but your time will come soon enough. Your gem is my plaything, a part of me, and I will not be denied,” that skeleton guy said, releasing his hold and Florence could feel the pain recede, but not completely dissipate.

“Florence, are you well?” Doug asked, the little guy was concerned about her.

“I don’t know, Doug. That lich guy just tried to take over my gem. I gave him what for and he left, but he said something about coming back again. What do I do?” Florence asked.

“You fought him off this time, you’ll do so again,” Doug reassured her. He looked down as if he was embarrassed over what he was about to say. “I’m afraid that I have a bit of a confession to make, this all might be partly my fault,” Doug told her.

“What do you mean? How did you have anything to do with that lich guy trying to steal my gem?” Florence asked.

“To save your memories after your gem was shattered, I had to work fast. The collar on my neck that the lich gave me, Berikoz is his name, led me right to him after it activated. He wasn’t interested in helping, but he did want to strike a deal. I had no other option, so I agreed on your behalf, and he saved your mind,” Doug admitted.

“What did you agree to?” Florence asked. She would normally be pretty darned mad at Doug, but she was still feeling poorly.

“I agreed to have your gem transformed into a phylactery for the lich. When his body is destroyed, he can reform it using his phylactery. He told me that there were hundreds of these things stashed around the world and odds were miniscule that he would ever need to use yours. That might be what he was trying to do, some adventurers or some creature must have managed to destroy the lich, no mean feat, and he was going to use your gem to restore himself. Your resistance must have pushed him to use a phylactery that was easier to access,” Doug said. It was a lot to take in, especially when she was feeling bad.

“You did what you thought was best for me Doug, I appreciate that. In the future, let’s try to not make bargains with liches and the like. I gave old Berikoz a whooping, even if it hurt me as well. He ain’t going to come around for my gem anytime soon,” Florence said.

“That may not be entirely accurate, a being like a lich can be hard to predict, but I know one thing about them, they are very proud. You thwarted his efforts, which will likely elicit a response from the creature in order to put you in your place. I’ll try to think of something, but I’m not sure what. Perhaps we can ask Bartleby the next time he shows up. A man with his connections might be able to do something for your condition,” Doug offered. It wasn’t much, but it was a plan. For now, she had to see to her home and the next batch of adventurers that were arriving to try out her challenges.

Florence’s beautiful gem was cracked. It wasn’t a big crack, just one of them hairline ones that was faint and hard to see. She could see it though, and not only could she see it, but she could also feel it. It was a throbbing pain that was hard to ignore, but over time, it changed into more of an itchy feel. She didn’t like it one bit, but the itching seemed to coincide with the crack getting smaller. Doug told her that a core gem could repair itself over time, so she had that going for her.

Thoughts about the lich were always in the back of her mind as she watched the new party attempt the challenge her home presented. Eventually, the lich would need to be dealt with, but that was a trouble for another time. This new party had six members and they seemed to be reasonably well equipped. With her body itching something awful while it healed, she found that she couldn’t focus on the delve as much as she would have normally liked to. Her babies had done a good job, though, even if she wasn’t watching all that attentively.

“The adventurers didn’t do too poorly, did they,” Doug said.

“No, they did just fine. Do you think we’ll see some more powerful adventurers before long? So far, nobody’s been able to even make it to the third floor, and them goblins don’t count since they cheated,” Florence replied.

“Yes, the ones going through our home will grow in power just like we do, I suspect Shara’s trainees will make it to the first-floor champion in a few runs, then, to the second floor a few runs after that,” Doug said.

“I hope they can just stay alive. Hey, what’s that going on out in the tunnel. No, not again!” Florence said as the party leaving their home was seen fleeing back toward the lawn. Pursuing them were more of the insect creatures, this time, a whole slew of them scorpions along with one that was double the size of the others.

“It appears the neighborhood core shard madman is at it again. Unfortunately, it looks like he’s been raising quite the army,” Doug said. The party stopped near the tunnel mouth, their numbers down to only four by this point. Florence wanted to help, but should she try and communicate with the group? Talking to Shara was one thing, talking with even more adventurers was inviting trouble. If they entered her home, Florence would try to do something, but out in the tunnel, her influence was very limited.

The final stand was short but brutal, the group killing a dozen of the scorpion monsters and wounding the biggen before the last adventurer fell to claws and venom. While they had fought, Florence had time to reset her home. Best she could guess, there were around twenty or so of the monsters, not including the bigger one. That one had an odd look in his disgusting bug eyes, it was smart, not just a stupid old bug, that one was plotting and planning. It must have figured that her home was going to be too much for remaining creeps to handle, ordering the others away.

The scorpions dragged off all the corpses, once again leaving the tunnel floor clear. From the limited view that Florence had outside, darkness was setting in which meant that the delves would stop for the evening. Doug had assured her that she could run 24/7 once they leveled up a bit more, but for now, the number of delves each day was somewhat limited. Florence figured that was a good thing, everyone loved a party, but at some point, they wanted the guests to go home.

She would have liked to watch the town more closely but pushing her view outside the tunnel complex was draining and she didn’t want to keep her focus off her home for too long with creepy bug things lurking around. Maybe when she finally finished off the scorpion shard, she would have better control over the things around her.

“Florence, look at this, one of the parakeet mechs has an onboard piloting feature!” Doug said. He had been messing with their purchases and seemed especially fascinated with the mechs.

“Hey, what’s in the crate that we got for our free bonus gift?” Florence asked, almost forgetting about the mystery gift.

“Oh, that isn’t something too helpful, I’m afraid. It’s a portable tool kit for gnomes, and we lack both the opposable digits and the gnomish passwords needed to open it. Thankfully the mechs came pre-assembled and the instructions are pretty good. They are highly configurable, and I just might be able to pilot one once I figure everything out,” Doug advised.

“Just don’t break them, we can’t repair them until Bartleby returns,” Florence warned. She was a bit worried since Doug had pried open one of them mechs somehow, she thought it was the one called Andy. She could tell Doug wanted to be the one to pilot the mech around like them robot cartoons he liked so much. She could never get into them, too much yelling, bad hairdos, and nonsense as far as she was concerned.

“Spud, no! Drop that right this instant!” Doug shouted as the plague charger wandered into the core room, snatched up a pair of the summoning figurines, and ran for the hills, Doug in hot pursuit.

“He just wants to play, Doug. You know that yelling at him only makes Spud want to hassle you more,” Florence said, laughing at her assistant.

“You don’t understand, if he bites down on the figures too hard or drops them too far, they will activate. These types of things are not in our control and would likely be hostile to our home. They’re for a trap, and need to be preserved for an emergency,” Doug argued, his little kitten legs not able to keep up with the huge champion.

Spud led Doug on a long chase through the house, Florence had thought the big guy would camp out in his attic, but he was enjoying Doug’s whining too much to give up the chase. It was all fun and games until Spud made it to the stairwell leading down to the first floor. The big guy let out a hiss and squeal jumping back as the figures glowed with light and began to grow as they tumbled down the stairs.

A pair of screams were heard as the figures summoned their live counterparts. A roar of anger and pain competed against a high-pitched shriek of terror. Spud had apparently grabbed the one-legged ogre and Fitzfizzle Zizzlefitz Jones, the gnomish inventor. The gnome continued his terrified screech as he rolled down the last stair, his rotund body continuing to roll until he stopped inside the master bedroom, face to face with an equally surprised Chubbs.

Back in the stairwell, the ogre was a hollering up a storm. It turned out the one-legged figurine wasn’t sporting some old healed-up battle wound, nope, this guy had a freshly severed, ragged stump that was spurting blood all over the place. He was all riled up with pain and anger, hurling the club that had materialized in his hand. The weapon flew over and smacked poor Spud right on the noggin.

Now Spud was a big boy, but this here ogre was a good nine feet tall, and his head would have brushed the roof of her home, if he hadn’t fallen over because of the whole one leg thing. Wasting no time, Spud summoned his Gabsug rider and charged down the stairs toward his attacker. If the ogre had been fully capable, Spud’s charge wouldn’t have stood a chance, but all that blood loss must have made the ogre a bit loopy and the slow swipe he made at the charging plague mount missed, allowing Spud to tear into the ogre while the rider buried his lance deep into the ogre’s chest.

It turns out that ogres are kind of stubborn and that biggen refused to die, his lumbering hands grabbing ahold of Spud as his charge crashed home. Her big boy gave a screech and hiss, but the ogre ignored the champion’s oversized claws and squeezed harder. Florence couldn’t watch, turning her attention away as her baby’s hiss ended with a meaty crunch. The ogre didn’t last much longer, finally bleeding out all over the bottom of the stairwell, the gore running into the master bedroom to stain her carpets.

“No, stay back, where am I?” The gnome stammered out, letting loose with another high-pitched girly shriek while he backed away from the pair of first-floor champions. He was dressed in strange clothes and was unarmed as far as Florence could tell. It struck her then, these weren’t normal summoned creatures. The ogre didn’t just disappear when he died and her home had reprocessed the body, not to mention she had gotten a good chunk of money from his death.

“Hold up there Zork and Chubbs, this’n might not be a threat. Hey you, gnome guy, what were you doing inside that figurine?” Florence asked. The champions backed away, keeping an eye on the gnome as Florence waited to see what the gnome would say.

“Who’s there, I don’t want to fight, don’t let these lions eat me!” The gnome shouted in terror. The cats seemed to puff up with pride, being mistaken for a lion must have been pretty flattering to them.

“They aren’t going to eat you unless I tell them to. Now, answer my question, how in tarnation did you get inside that figurine?” Florence asked.

“Well, as long as you keep them from eating me, I’ll try to answer your questions. Where are you? Who are you?” The gnome asked, looking around. He could hear Florence but couldn’t see her.

“You first buster, who are you and why were you in that figurine?” Florence asked again.

“If I might add,” Doug interjected. He had sauntered over to the stairwell and the appearance of a talking cat seemed to confuse the gnome guy even more. “It appears you are not some summoned creature and were, in fact, trapped. Perhaps we should start with the last thing you remember,” Doug offered, the little guy was actually being helpful.

“Oh, yeah, sure, umm,” the gnome started to say. He took a deep breath, gathered his thoughts, and continued. “I was working, or trying to, when some of the guards nabbed me. They took me to a cell and then the last thing I remember was an elf with glowing hands chanting words of power that made me feel sleepy. Next thing I know, I drop on the floor with a bloody ogre howling and these rather overgrown cats looking like they want to have Mrs. Jones’ youngest son as a snack,” the gnome said, speaking rapidly.

“Hmm, you neglected to mention why the guards were there to interrupt your work, what exactly is your trade?” Doug asked. He was a doing just fine, so Florence let her advisor continue the interrogation. Who would have thought all those police shows the kitten watched would come in handy.

“It wasn’t something criminal or nothing like that. I was captured against my will and was just trying to find a way back home,” the gnome said.

“Who captured you, where did they capture you from, and why?” Doug asked.

“Well, I never met which one of the wizards captured me personally, but as from where, I was on my ship when they took me. As for why? I think I just got caught up in some nonsense magical experiment. I overheard they were disappointed they found me instead of what they were looking for, and, well, you see the results,” the gnome said, becoming more comfortable now that it appeared he wouldn’t be eaten just yet.

“So, you broke free, and were messing around in a wizard's workshop to find a way home?” Doug asked.

“Yep, pretty much, I’m a tinker and figured if I had enough time in that workshop, even if was a wizard’s workshop and not a proper gnomish one, I’d figure some way out of wherever it was they had me,” the gnome replied.

“Enough with the questions Doug, this guy isn’t going to cause us any trouble, are you?” Florence asked.

“Uh, no ma’am, I just want to, well, I’m not sure what I want to do, but I know I don’t want to be a prisoner and I’m absolutely sure I don’t want to be eaten by giant cats,” the gnome said.

“Well, this is my home and unless you do something to deserve it, my defenders will leave you alone. You’re free to go, there’s a town starting up nearby, but you might want to wait for the next party of adventurers to escort you since the tunnel outside my home is lousy with giant scorpions,” Florence said.

“That’s an unexpected relief, thank you. Who exactly are you ma’am if you don’t mind my asking?” The gnome asked.

“My name is Florence Valentine, and this is my home. Now, before you ask, yes, this home is a bit different than most since I am a core gem. You’re welcome to stay as long as you need, so long as you don’t get into any trouble. Doug, show him around and let him eat his fill from the picnic basket in the gazebo. But first, have him run outside the home for a minute so I can bring Spud back,” Florence said.

“Excellent, pleased to meet you, Florence Valentine, I’m Fitzfizzle Zizzlefitz Jones, at your service. So, your home is like a dungeon then? I’ve never been inside one before, the whole idea of adventuring kind of struck me as a completely foolish and deadly way to try and make a living. Nope, give me a well-stocked workshop and I’m completely content to sell a few gadgets and gizmos to pay my way in this world,” Fitzfizzle Zizzlefitz Jones said.

“First off, buster, this is a home, not a dungeon. Second, do you have something like a nickname or whatnot? I’m sorry but your name is kind of a mouthful,” Florence didn’t get mad at the slight of calling her home a dungeon, the gnome didn’t know any better and he seemed like a good enough sort now that he wasn’t shrieking like a little girl.

“My apologies, I won’t make that mistake again. My friends used to call me Fizz, so that will work. I’m not saying you have to be my friend, but I’d like our interactions to remain on a cordial and not on a cat eating me basis. So, now that we got that out of the way, there was mention of something to eat? Being trapped by an evil wizard in a magic figurine has a way of making you kind of hungry,” Fizz said.

“Fizz is fine, and yes, we’ll work on a friendly basis here. So long as you don’t cause any trouble, you won’t get eaten up by my babies. Doug, take Fizz here on a tour and let him eat his fill,” Florence said.

“Well, Mr. Fizz, you say you’re a tinker. Tell me, how much do you know about gnomish parakeet battle mechs?” Doug said. The two were chatting up a storm as Doug led the gnome around on the tour. It did her heart good to see Doug make a friend. It also meant he would be out of her hair for a while, something she wholeheartedly approved of.